High-flying Kiwis inflict first ODI series whitewash on India in 31 years

Mt. Maunganui (New Zealand), Feb 11 : In a stunning reversal of fortunes, an underwhelming India suffered their first ODI series whitewash in more than three decades as New Zealand completed a 3-0 sweep with a five-wicket victory in the third match here on Tuesday.

It is the first whitewash for India in 31 years in a series in which all matches have been played. They were beaten 5-0 by the West Indies back in 1989 in an away assignment.

This came within days of India sweeping a five-match T20 series.

“They (New Zealand) played with a lot more intensity after the T20 series. They deservedly won 3-0,” said India captain Virat Kohli after the shocking turnaround for both the sides.

Henry Nicholls scored 80 in 103 balls and Martin Guptill made 66 off 46 as the Black Caps scored 300 for five in 47.1 overs. Colin de Grandhomme smacked 58 not out off 28 balls at the end to help seal the win with 17 deliveries to spare.

Chasing a sub-par 297, New Zealand got off to a flying start as Guptill and Nicholls put on 50 off just 40 balls. Overall, they added 106 for the first wicket.

Gupitll smacked six fours and four sixes as the Indian new ball bowlers faced an onslaught. Shardul Thakur (1-87) and Navdeep Saini (0-68) struggled to find their rhythm and were taken for runs, while Jasprit Bumrah finished the series wicket-less.

Yuzvendra Chahal (3-47) provided the breakthrough, bowling Guptill in the 17th over. At the other end, Nicholls scored a half-century off 72 balls and anchored the innings.

He added 53 runs with Kane Williamson (22), but Chahal struck twice and Ravindra Jadeja (1-45) removed the in-form Ross Taylor (12) cheaply. New Zealand were reduced to 189 for four in the 33rd over at that stage.

Taylor was adjudged player of the series for amassing 194 runs in three innings and being dismissed only once.

De Grandhomme took centre stage then and smashed a half-century off only 21 balls. His explosive knock included six fours and three sixes, as his fifth wicket partnership with Jimmy Neesham (19) came off only 31 balls.

India’s fielding was lax and failed to build pressure on the Black Caps, an apt representation of their struggles in this series.

This was after Rahul’s first hundred at number five helped anchor India’s innings.

He hit nine fours and two sixes, and rescued India from a precarious 62 for three.

He put on 100 runs with Shreyas Iyer (62 off 63 balls) for the fourth wicket, and later on another 107 runs with Manish Pandey (42 off 48 balls) for the fifth wicket. Hamish Bennett finished with 4-64 from ten overs.

India made another poor start. Kyle Jamieson (1-53) bowled Mayank Agarwal (1), who has suffered a torrid tour of New Zealand thus far. The big blow came when Virat Kohli (9) was out caught at third man in the seventh over.

Prithvi Shaw provided the initial flourish with 40 off 42 balls, but he was run-out going for a suicidal second run in the 13th over.

Iyer and Rahul then anchored the Indian innings. The former batted steadily and reached his half century off 52 balls, his third 50-plus score in this series.

But Iyer couldn’t carry on, out caught off Jimmy Neesham (1-50).

It was down to Rahul then, who crossed 50 off 66 balls. His partnership with Pandey progressed well as India reached 250 in the 45th over.

Rahul’s hundred came off 104 balls, and he perished in a bid to accelerate. This is where India’s innings fell apart, as Pandey also holed out off Bennett shortly afterwards.

Mt. Maunganui (New Zealand), Feb 11 : India captain Virat Kohli on Tuesday berated his bowlers for their mediocre performance as he tried to explain the team’s first ODI series whitewash in over three decades, saying that the visitors lacked composure all through.

The five-wicket defeat here meant that India lost the series 0-3 to an injury-plagued New Zealand that had been deflated by a 0-5 whitewash of its own in the T20 format just last week. It was India’s first whitewash in 31 years in an ODI series in which all matches have been played.

“The games were not as bad as the scoreline suggests. It boils down to those chances that we didn’t grab. I don’t think it was enough to win games in international cricket,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation.

“With the ball, we were not able to make breakthroughs, we were not at all good on the field. We haven’t played so badly but when you don’t grab those chances, you don’t deserve to win,” he added.

“Batsmen coming back from tough situations was a positive sign for us, but the way we fielded and bowled, the composure wasn’t enough to win games,” he asserted.

The ineffectiveness of Indian bowlers can be gauged from the fact that the team’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah finished the series without a wicket and the attack couldn’t dismiss the complete rival line-up even once.